1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a three-dimensional virtual model display color management method, program and apparatus for displaying with different colors, depending on attributes, components making up the three-dimensional virtual model created by a three-dimensional CAD, etc., and more particularly to a management method, program and apparatus for color-code displaying components making up the three-dimensional virtual model, to assess the recyclability and disassembling properties.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Up until now, in the product development of electronic equipment and apparatuses such as computers, assessments of dynamic interference and assembling properties have been made to increase the development efficiency, using a support tool for a three-dimensional virtual model, i.e., a so-called digital mock-up, created by a three-dimensional CAD. Of late years, more and more considerations have been sought for the resource recycling and earth environment, imparting importance to the product development considering disassembling properties or environmental load reduction in life cycle. For this reason, a support tool for life cycle assessment (LCA) of components designed by the three-dimensional CAD has been provided so as to enable the amount of emission of environmental load substance such as CO2 to be found out on the CAD.
To assess the recyclability and disassembling properties, the product three-dimensional virtual model is displayed with different colors on a material-to-material basis so that study can easily be made of how the product is to be disassembled and recycled.
A conventional component color display method in the three-dimensional virtual model includes giving a specific attribute to a component, one-to-one correlating a display color to the component attribute, and varying the corresponding component in the three-dimensional virtual model having actual colors so as to have a display color designated by the attribute, to provide a color-coded display. For example, notice is taken of the material attribute of the component. If the material is a synthetic resin, then the synthetic resin is correlated one-to-one with a display color so that the components made of synthetic resin are color-code displayed in the apparatus provided in the form of a three-dimensional virtual model.
The conventional three-dimensional virtual model component color-coded display could perform only a color-coded display fixed to one of various attributes such as volume, weight and material possessed by the component, due to its one-to-one correlation of a specific component attribute with the display color. Therefore, if the disassembling properties are to be assessed together with the recyclability, sufficient component color-coded display required for the assessment would not be provided, thus resulting in the assessment needing a lot of labor and time.